Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 Won't Bring Back The Most Eccentric Character

As Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 gears up for its early 2016 shoot, some big news has been flying around involving potential new cast members, as well as folks who are returning to the fold. Unfortunately, it looks like everyone's favorite hoarder, The Collector, will not be coming back for a second round – at least, that's what Benicio Del Toro seems to think.

Earlier today, comic movie news site Superhero Hype reported that in a recent interview, Del Toro was not exactly optimistic when it came to his chances for being a part of James Gunn's 2017 sequel. More specifically, the Sicario actor had the following remarks to give when asked about his participation:

I don’t think so. They would have told me… I do hope to play that character again at some point.

When we last saw Benicio Del Toro's Collector in the post-credits sequence of Guardians Of The Galaxy, he shared a drink with Howard The Duck and Cosmo the Space Dog while sitting in the wreckage of his recently exploded gallery on Knowhere. So, if the Collector is not going to be a presence in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, at the very least we know he'll be keeping busy cleaning up the mess that Star Lord and his crew left after that incident with the Infinity Stone in their possession. Still, Del Toro's character isn't exactly vital to the continuing story of the Guardians franchise, at least not that we can tell. So his absence, while a bummer for fans of the actor's work, doesn't seem to get in the way of the story being told.

Despite his upset about quite possibly not being featured in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Benicio Del Toro will probably be thanking the fates for his non-involvement as he'll be left with plenty of time to play his obviously secretive role in Star Wars: Episode VIII. With Rian Johnson's sequel looking to film in the very near future, and casting almost assuredly underway at this very moment, Del Toro's supposed lead villain slot will probably take up a good chunk of, if not the rest of, his 2016 schedule. Though it wouldn't be out of line if Del Toro is offered some sort of cameo / post-credit sequence appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even as he ventures to the far, far away galaxy of Star Wars: Episode VIII.

As he prepares for his piece of Star Wars: Episode VIII's puzzle, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is still a going concern for Benicio Del Toro, even if he hasn't been offered anything other than residuals from his performance in the first film. Maybe James Gunn will try to work some sort of magic to slip him into his next MCU outing, but in the meantime Del Toro will have plenty of time to make some phone calls to his agent and gets used to pronouncing those fun Star Wars character names.

You can see Benicio Del Toro next in the film A Perfect Day, which is slated for limited release this Friday.